Search Site

TALLAHASSEE, Fla | Florida pardons 4 black men accused of 1949 rape

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —January 11, 2019— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the independently elected Cabinet granted posthumous pardons to four African-American men accused of raping a white woman nearly 70 years ago in a case now seen as a racial injustice.

The unanimous vote came minutes after alleged victim pleaded with DeSantis and the Cabinet members, meeting as the clemency board, not to grant the pardons, saying she still relives the horror of the rape she said happened in 1949.